Have you have wondered how to clean your oven? If you have, I’m sure you’re not alone! Cleaning your oven can oftentimes seem like a monumental task – especially if you’ve put it off for a while. No worries, that’s where I’m here to help.
Over the last 40+ years of my family cleaning professionally we have learned a ton of do’s and don’ts! I have 5 Oven Cleaning Tips you can use to clean your oven like a pro!
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Read my full guide on how to clean your oven like a pro and also watch the step by step video over on my YouTube Channel!
1. Be Prepared
What does being prepared mean? Having all of the right stuff ready to go and having all of the right tools for scrubbing when I want to get after cleaning my dirty oven! Oftentimes, I’ll have to take the racks out of the oven so you can properly clean them. When I do this I always like to have a space ready to place the racks. Sometimes this is in big bins you can grab at your local hardware store (as you can see in my video) or placing the racks in a bathtub.
Either way, once I have my racks in my bin or bathtub, I always place a couple of dishwashing pods in with the racks so they can begin to cut away at the grease and build up on them. I then set it and forget it, meaning I leave them alone until the inside of the oven is all done. This gives the dishwashing pods plenty of time to work their cleaning magic! After I have this done, it’s a great time to manually or with a vacuum remove the big pieces of debris at the bottom of the oven.
Oh – and don’t forget my recommended scrubbing tools for your oven clean, all part of being prepared!
Scrub Daddy Sponge
Razor Blade Scraper
Microfiber Towels
After you have all of this done, you are ready to move on to tip number two!
2. Choose the Right Cleaner
When choosing the right cleaner there are plenty of options out on the market. Some cleaners are a bit more aggressive and others a bit more eco-friendly. I always recommending first and foremost choosing what’s best for you and your family, whether that be a more eco solution or a more chemically based option. I’ll give you two options that could work great for you and your household.
Option #1 – Zep Oven Cleaner
If you don’t mind a more aggressive cleaner in your home, my recommendation is Zep Oven Cleaner (https://rstyle.me/+xl13N-m_RBmA4r9f55aguA). It does a great job at cutting away at the grease and grime built up in your oven and will be great for removing even the toughest oven stains. Spray it on and let it do it’s thing!
Option #2 – Vinegar, Baking Soda, and Dawn Dish Soap
Option two is great for those looking for something a bit less aggressive but will still get the job done. Vinegar, Baking Soda, and Dawn Dish Soap work well when attacking a dirty oven. First, I like to take baking soda and mix it with just WATER to create an abrasive paste. You’ll have to play with the amount of paste to create depending on how big or small your oven is. I then scrub in this abrasive baking soda paste removing oven stains and build up in the dirty oven. After that, I create a simple spray mixture of one cup of water, one cup of vinegar, and a few drops of dawn dish soap to degrease the oven.
No matter which option you may choose, don’t forget the Tip #3, it’s SO important!
3. Dwell Time
Tip number three may be the most important tip of them all. Dwell Time! What is dwell time? It’s simply allowing the cleaner to stay on the surface for an extended period of time. Once you spray on your Zep or applying your baking soda paste don’t be afraid to wake away from your oven for 20-30 minutes and allow the cleaner to cut away at the grease. The more time you let the cleaner work on the grime and build up, the easier it will be when you get to scrubbing away that grease!
4. Let’s Get Scrubbing!
Now is the time to bust out your scrub mommy and razor blade scraper and start to scrub, wipe, and scrape. After the cleaner has cut through the grime it is time to manually remove the rest of the grease. Admittedly, this will take the most amount of time and determination – but don’t give up, you got this! You may have to repeat the process of applying your chosen cleaner and scrub a number of times to get rid of all of the residue and remaining grease and grime.
5. Rinse and Wipe Down
Now that the oven is all clean, come through with a damp microfiber towel to remove any remaining cleaning residue and any leftover grease/grime. This step is vital – the last thing you want when cooking to have left behind large chunks of baking soda or a pile of oven cleaner.
Don’t Forget About the Racks
After you have the oven all wiped down, go grab those oven racks you forgot about and give them a wipe down with your steel scour daddy and scrub mommy until you have all of the grease removed. This should hopefully be pretty easy after the dishwashing pods have been busy at work. Give them a quick rinse and now you are all ready to put your oven back together.
BEFORE
AFTER
Did you find this helpful? When it’s cleaning time, having the right cleaning product and tools can make a big difference. If you’d like more cleaning tips delivered straight to your virtual mailbox, sign up for the Clean Freak Weekly here.
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